The short version
AB-730 is Microsoft’s beginner exam on using generative AI at work, built around Microsoft 365 Copilot. You do not build anything or write code. You show that you can pick the right Copilot experience, write and manage prompts, handle meetings and business content, and hand work to agents. This guide uses the study guide that Microsoft lists as “Skills measured as of October 20, 2026”.
What the exam is
The exam is called AB-730: AI Business Professional. Passing it earns the Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional credential, which Microsoft labels as beginner level. Microsoft describes the candidate as someone who uses AI and Work IQ to improve daily work and make better business decisions, without building AI apps.
Work IQ is Microsoft’s name for the work context Copilot draws on, such as your mail, meetings, chats and files. The exam expects you to know how that context, the web, and the app you are working in change an answer.
A new outline since October 20, 2026
Microsoft changed the English version of this exam on October 20, 2026. Its change log marks the audience profile and several skill areas as major changes. One area was removed (creating and managing your own Copilot agents) and a whole domain on prebuilt agents and Microsoft Copilot Cowork is new. Other languages follow roughly eight weeks after English, according to Microsoft.
Who it is for
Microsoft describes people who already use generative AI tools, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Cowork and prebuilt agents, and who are comfortable in Outlook, Word, Teams, PowerPoint and Excel. Think project managers, marketers, salespeople, HR and finance staff, assistants and team leads. The prerequisites page covers what to know first.
Format at a glance
| Item | What Microsoft says |
|---|---|
| Exam code | AB-730 |
| Level | Beginner |
| Time | 45 minutes |
| Passing score | 700 or higher on a scale of 1 to 1,000 |
| Delivery | Proctored, scheduled through Pearson VUE |
| Languages | 13, including English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese (Brazil) |
| Number of questions | Not published; Microsoft says most exams have 40 to 60 |
Details on scoring, breaks and retakes are on the exam format page.
The four domains and their weightings
| Domain | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Understand generative AI fundamentals | 25-30% |
| Manage prompts and chats by using Microsoft 365 Copilot | 20-25% |
| Manage business content and collaboration by using Microsoft 365 Copilot | 20-25% |
| Drive business outcomes by using agents | 20-25% |
Generative AI fundamentals
How Copilot keeps your organization’s information private, how context such as Work IQ and web data shapes answers, and when to use Copilot Chat, an agent, or Cowork. It also covers risks: inaccurate answers, prompt injection, over-reliance, and how to verify output.
Prompts and chats
Writing effective prompts, choosing a model, saving, scheduling and sharing prompts, refining them, and how Copilot uses memory and instructions. Then chat housekeeping: finding, renaming and deleting chats, and organizing material with Notebooks.
Business content and collaboration
Generating and analyzing content in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, using connectors and Work IQ, creating images and charts, and checking that the result meets the goal. It also covers meetings: preparation, the Facilitator agent, real-time catch-up, Intelligent recap, and Copilot Pages.
Agents
Choosing and applying prebuilt agents, deciding between a prebuilt and a custom agent, and filtering chats by agent. The second half is Microsoft Copilot Cowork: how it works through multi-step tasks with skills, how to delegate, how to review its plan and results, and its security considerations and limits.
Official source
For the vendor’s own page, see the Microsoft Learn AB-730 study guide. It is the final authority if anything here differs.
More guides for AB-730
- AB-730 Study Plan: 4-Week and 8-Week
- AB-730 Sample Questions With Answers
- Is the AB-730 Exam Hard? An Honest Look
- AB-730 Renewal and Retakes Explained
- Is AB-730 Worth It? An Honest Look
- AB-730 Cheat Sheet: Key Facts to Review
- AB-730 vs AB-731: Which Exam First?
Next step
Read the domains explained page to see where your time should go. When you want to check yourself, our AB-730 practice tests are original practice sets that spread their questions over these four domains.
Frequently asked questions
Does AB-730 need a coding background?
No. Microsoft says the credential is for people who use AI productivity tools without building AI apps or writing code.
Does AB-730 expire?
Microsoft’s renewal page says fundamentals certifications do not expire and that associate, expert and specialty ones renew yearly. The AB-730 page itself shows no renewal requirement. Check your Microsoft Learn profile to be sure.
Can I still use old AB-730 study material?
Partly. The outline changed on October 20, 2026, so material written for the earlier version spends time on topics that were removed and misses the new agents domain.